Our new President cuts a pretty fine figure in a tuxedo! When he entered the stage at the first televised ball and we knew, finally, what tux he’d be wearing, our country released a collective sigh of relief after weeks of apprehension and anticipation: Would he deliver a fashion hit or a miss? Did the tux make the man or the man make the tux?

Well, of course, the latter! That tux on the “other guy” (who would have been wearing his trademark smirk as well) would have been just another tux. But on Mr. Obama, who exudes grace and, thankfully, has never to my knowledge been photographed with a smirk on his face, the tux was perfect. No one else could have worn it with such style and grace. It was absolutely the perfect choice for the leader of the free world.

But let’s not forget about Michelle’s gown!

Ok, lets.

Oh alright. I suppose she loved the dress and couldn’t wait to reveal it, or she would not have chosen it. I can’t imagine the pressure of having to consider every time you get dressed how this ensemble is going to play out in the blogs and EVEN for-crying-out-loud the “news.” But I don’t think she really looked all that comfortable in the dress and it wouldn’t allow her to dance because there was too much skirt to deal with.

I’m sorry. She looked like she was going to the prom in 1980, not like the First Lady in 2009. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

So now we read that the girls’ propensity for J Crew is sending that stock up, up, and up! I guess there are people who pay attention to these things.

As for me, I’m willing to set aside the petty ball gown gaff and move on. Let’s get down to business and see how much Mr. Obama can get done on his promised agenda, how long the afterglow of bi-partisanship can last, and how much that call to sacrifice is going to hit home.

I think I’m already doing my sacrificial part, by the way. We employ all of the traditional budget cutting measures available: limiting fast food expense by ordering the kids meal without the toy –except if the toy is really cool, watching movies six months after they were in the theaters on cable TV, never going anywhere just for fun, letting the driveway cracks expand year after year, and making the kids use the old version of whatever game system is most popular.

But I digress. We were talking about fashion.

I don’t own a ball gown, but if I ever do have an occasion that I can’t get out of where a gown is required, it will most certainly be designer label and come straight off the racks of the local Veteran’s thrift store. I’m pretty sure I could have found a real nice gown there for Michelle.